House GOP pissed at Ted Cruz, call him "leader of a secret cabal of leftists"

quote:WASHINGTON -- In one moment, with one statement, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) managed Wednesday to accomplish what House GOP leaders, Republican senators and the Wall Street Journal editorial page had failed to do for months: Persuade rank-and-file House Republicans that shutting down the government in an attempt to defund Obamacare was simply impossible.

On Wednesday, after House leaders said they'd go forward with the defund strategy Cruz had been pitching with ads on Fox News, his response boiled down to 'Thanks, you're on your own.'

"Harry Reid will no doubt try to strip the defund language from the continuing resolution, and right now he likely has the votes to do so," Cruz said in a statement. "At that point, House Republicans must stand firm, hold their ground, and continue to listen to the American people."

On the surface, House Republicans were seething. Members openly accused Cruz and his allies, Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), of waving the white flag before the fight had even begun. One House GOP aide even called Cruz a "joke, plain and simple."

But by admitting that he had no ability in the Senate to back up the House effort to defund Obamacare, and saying so on the same day that House Republicans had announced they would support the Cruz-inspired strategy, Cruz has inadvertently done more than any other lawmaker to avert a government shutdown.

"Cruz officially jumped the shark this week," said one GOP operative allied with House leadership, who, like others, requested anonymity to speak critically about fellow Republicans. "He's doing for the House Leaders what they couldn't do for themselves. House rank-and-file members are uniting with Boehner, Cantor over Ted Cruz's idiotic position."

The retreat by Cruz has led to public questioning from House Republicans about his motives and political acumen, not to mention joking speculation that he may be part of a vast and devious liberal conspiracy to undermine conservatives.

"Cruz is the leader of a secret cabal of leftists that are seeking control of the conservative movement," quipped one senior House Republican leadership source. "Their aim is to force the party to take on suicidal missions to destroy the movement from within."

re: House GOP pissed at Ted Cruz, call him "leader of a secret cabal of leftists"(Posted by Decatur on 9/19/13 at 12:34 pm to Y.A. Tittle)

quote:I could do a hit piece on anyone with this sort of shite as my "sources."

It's a recent development. I'm sure we'll hear more about it.

quote:House Republicans are furious with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for conceding that legislation to defund Obamacare would fail in the Senate, and are accusing him of surrendering the fight and undermining their strategy to effectively repeal the Affordable Care Act.

“I hope they can be a little bit more optimistic, because what we are doing is what the majority of Americans want,” Radel added. “If it’s not a full defunding, it is to, at minimum, delay Obamacare. And right now, instead of talking about how they can’t get votes, what I sure would like to see from these good men is them going out and leaning on the [Senate] Democrats to do the right thing.”

quote:Lawmakers' frustration stems from Cruz and his allies hammering them for several weeks to fight for defunding, using slogans like “don’t blink” as a part of a public campaign to pressure House conservatives. Hearing Cruz concede defeat in the Senate before House Republicans even passed their budget bill angered many, including those committed to the defunding strategy.

“I don’t know how you could say, right now, that there are not the votes for it [in the Senate]. I don’t understand that,” Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., said. “I would suggest that the senator speak to his colleagues and do what we’re doing.

re: House GOP pissed at Ted Cruz, call him "leader of a secret cabal of leftists"(Posted by Zephyrius on 9/19/13 at 12:37 pm to MSMHater)

quote:WTF am I missing here? Is it just b/c he's not agreeing to participate in this pointless dog and pony show?

You're not missing anything... its a hack piece just as Decatur and Jeauxblow are hacks.

quote:"Harry Reid will no doubt try to strip the defund language from the continuing resolution, and right now he likely has the votes to do so," Cruz said in a statement. "At that point, House Republicans must stand firm, hold their ground, and continue to listen to the American people."

He's stating that Reid has the power to kill or sit on the bill. But that can turn if the American people stay involved... The house leadership is responding to the outcry from the American voters that Obamacare is bad. Hope is that the American people can get the Senate to address the budget and defund Obamacare.

Basically because the House passed a bill to fund the govt but defund Obamacare its on the Senate whether the govt. is shutdown.

re: House GOP pissed at Ted Cruz, call him "leader of a secret cabal of leftists"(Posted by Decatur on 9/19/13 at 12:40 pm to Y.A. Tittle)

quote:While it’s no real secret that Democrats wouldn’t support the measure -- Sen. Chuck Schumer called the GOP’s plan “insane” -- Boehner and some of his Republican members are loath to go there publicly, and believe Cruz admitted defeat before the House even voted on its plan. And they say that by calling on House Republicans to “stand firm,” Senate conservatives are putting the spotlight -- and pressure -- on the GOP-led lower chamber.

“House agrees to send #CR to Senate that defunds Obamacare. @SenTedCruz & @SenMikeLee refuse to fight. Wave white flag and surrender,” read a Wednesday night tweet from Wisconsin Republican Rep. Sean Duffy, referring also to the Utah senator who has joined Cruz’s efforts against the health care law. The congressman continued on in a Facebook post: “House Republicans have stood firm. We have voted to defund, repeal & delay #Obamacare dozens of times. It is time for Sens. Cruz & Lee to show they can hold the line against Senate Democrats. Let's hope they do not surrender before the fight even begins.” Then, he asked: “Can Americans count on Sens. Cruz & Lee to join us?”

re: House GOP pissed at Ted Cruz, call him "leader of a secret cabal of leftists"(Posted by Tiger n Miami AU83 on 9/19/13 at 12:43 pm to Decatur)

quote:But by admitting that he had no ability in the Senate to back up the House effort to defund Obamacare, and saying so on the same day that House Republicans had announced they would support the Cruz-inspired strategy, Cruz has inadvertently done more than any other lawmaker to avert a government shutdown.

What do you know, a politician actually doing their job. Even if it was an accident.

re: House GOP pissed at Ted Cruz, call him "leader of a secret cabal of leftists"(Posted by Decatur on 9/19/13 at 12:49 pm to Tiger n Miami AU83)

quote:The idea that Republicans don’t have the votes to defund Obamacare is not new from Cruz. He’s spent the summer trying to build a “tsunami” of grass-roots outrage against the Affordable Care Act, arguing that such a movement would be the only way to kill President Barack Obama’s signature legislation.

The reaction from House Republicans and senior GOP leadership aides to Cruz’s latest statement on the matter was swift and angry, both about Cruz’s lack of confidence in a vote and his urging of the House to “stand firm.”

“They said nothing is impossible if you fight hard enough, and the minute the House announces the vote, they give up the fight? It's crazy," one senior GOP leadership aide told CNN.

"They should walk the walk," the aide said, predicting it would backfire on the conservative senators.

Another senior GOP leadership aide took a shot at Cruz declining to say whether he would filibuster the bill, telling CNN, "It is disappointing to see that Wendy Davis has more balls than Ted Cruz," in reference to the state senate Democrat who filibustered an abortion bill in the Texas legislature over the summer.